Revision as of 13:36, 7 January 2015

Abdur Rahîm Khân-é-Khânâñ

Authorship

Speaking Tree/ The Times of India

A Mughal who was a devotee of Lord Krishna

Ancestry and early life

Birth

Abdul Rahim was born in Lahore (now in Pakistan) on 14th Çafar 964 to the daughter of Jamal Khan of Mewat.

Khanzadah

Khanzadah, or "the son of a Khan" is precisely the Musalman equivalent to the Hindu Rajput or "son of a Raja ". —From Punjab Castes by Denzil Ibbetson

Short biography

Khanzada Mirza Khan Abdul Rahim Khan-e-Khana, also known as Rahim, is a renowned composer during the time of Mughal emperor Akbar. He was one of the main nine ministers (Dewan) in his court, also known as the Navaratnas. Rahim is famous for his Hindi couplets and his books on Astrology. The village of Khankhana, is named after him, which is located in the Nawanshahr district of the state of Punjab, India.

Lineage

Rahim was son of Bairam Khan, Akbar’s trusted caretaker, who had Turkic ancestry. When Humayun returned to India, from his exile, he asked the nobles to forge matrimonial alliances with various zamindars and feudal lords, across the nation. While Humayun himself married the elder daughter of Jamal Khan of Mewat (present Mewat district of Haryana), he asked Bairam Khan to marry the younger daughter.

Gazetteer of Ulwur states

Soon after Babar's death, his successor, Humayun, was in 1513 supplanted by the Pathan Sher Shah Suri, who, in A.D. 1545, was followed by Islam Shah. During the reign of the latter a battle was fought and lost by the Emperor's troops at Firozpur, in Mewat, on which, however, Islam Shah did not loose his hold. Adil Shah, the third of the Pathan interlopers, who succeeded in A.D. 1552, had to contend for the empire with the returned Humayun.

The matrimonial alliance

In these struggles for the restoration of Babar's dynasty Khanzadas apparently do not figure at all. Humayun seems to have conciliated them by marrying the elder daughter of Jamal Khan, nephew of Babar's opponent, Hasan Khan, and by causing his great minister, Bairam Khan, to marry a younger daughter of the same Mewatti.

The maternal lineage

His maternal lineage goes to Lord Krishna Khanzadahs, the royal family of Muslim Jadon (also spelt as Jadaun) Rajputs, accepted Islam on their association with the Sufi saints. Khanzadah, the Persian form of the Rajputana word 'Rajput', is the title of the great representatives of the ancient Jadubansi royal Rajput family, descendants of Krishna and therefore of Lunar Dynasty. They are the Mewatti Chiefs of the Persian historians, who were the representatives of the ancient Lords of Mewat.

Death of Bairam Khan

After Bairam Khan was murdered in Patan, Gujarat, his first wife and young Rahim were brought safely to Ahmedabad, from they brought to Delhi and presented to the royal courts of Akbar, who gave him the title of 'Mirza Khan', and subsequently married him to Mah Banu, sister of Mirza Aziz Kokah, son of Ataga Khan, a noted Mughal noble.

Stepson of Akbar

Later, Bairam Khan's second wife, Salima Sultan Begum (Abdul's stepmother) married her cousin, Akbar, which made Abdul Rahim Khan-e-Khan also his stepson, and later he became one of his nine prominent ministers, the Navaratnas, or nine gems.

Religion

The spark of devotion

Although a Muslim by birth, Rahim was a devotee of Lord Krishna and wrote poetry dedicated to him. He was also an avid Astrolger, and the writer of two important works in Astrology Khet Kautukam and Dwawishd Yogavali are still popular.

What is amazing here!

How things happens when God really wants you to follow his path. Just imagine somebody having a Muslim father and a Hindu mother. Then, father is murdered and your own life is also threatened. Then your step-mother takes care of you and she marries somebody else, who makes you his step-son. This other person happens to be none other than the ruler of the land.

Trumping your situation

While living in the atmosphere of continuous struggle and political strategies, you end up being a poet and a devotee of Lord to top it. What a ride it would have been for young Rahim who saw so many twists to his life that a normal person would give up it all. But when God really wants to take of you, he makes you suffer but still keeps you interested!

Strange way of charity

He is well known for his strange manner of giving alms to the poor. He never looked at the person he was giving alms to, keeping his gaze downwards in all humility.

Recogintion by Tulsidas

When Tulsidas heard about Rahim's strange method of giving alms, he promptly wrote a couplet and sent it to Rahim these lines

The message

"Sir, Why give alms like this? Where'd you learn that?, Your hands are as high as your eyes are low".

The reply

Realizing that Tulsidas was well aware of the truth behind creation, and was merely giving him an opportunity to say a few lines in reply, he wrote to Tulsidas in all humility: "The Giver is someone else, giving day and night. But the world gives me the credit, so I lower my eyes."

The great poet

Without doubt, Rahim was a great poet and his legacy lives on. Though he faced adverse atmosphere, he still manage to carve his own niche. Now, we will look at some of his couplets that are extremely popular.

बड़े बड़ाई न करें, बड़े.

The truly great never reveal their worth. Nor do those who are truly worthy of praise, praise themselves. Says Rahim, when does a diamond reveals its value

रहिमन देखि बड़ेन को, लघु न दीजिए डारि. जहां काम आवे सुई, कहा करे तरवारि.

Says Rahim, when you are introduced to an important/rich person, do not ignore or forget your poor friends. For if, for example, you need a needle to successfully complete a job, of what use is a sword!

रहिमन धागा प्रेम का, मत तोरो चटकाय. टूटे पे फिर ना जुरे, जुरे गाँठ परी जाय.

Says, Rahim, this mind (body) is like a sieve (winnowing fan), sort out your friends through it. Let the light (bad) ones and go (fly in the wind) and carefully keep the heavy (good) ones.

खीरा सिर ते काटि के, मलियत लौंन लगाय. रहिमन करुए मुखन को, चाहिए यही सजाय.

To cure a bitter cucumber,we cut its head off and rub in salt. Says Rahim to cure a bitter mouth we should apply the same remedy.

जो रहीम उत्तम प्रकृति, का करी सकत कुसंग. चन्दन विष व्यापे नहीं, लिपटे रहत भुजंग.

Says Rahim, How will evil corrupt, he who has an excellent character? After all does the sandalwood become poisonous by having snakes lie around its trunk?

कही रहीम सम्पति सगे,.

Says Rahim, people will find many many ways to be related to fortune. But only he is a true friend, who stands by you in misfortune.

रहिमन वे नर मर चुके,.

Says Rahim, he who has to beg is no longer a man. But those who refuse were never men to begin with."

बिगरी बात बने नहीं, लाख करो किन कोय. रहिमन फाटे दूध को, मथे न माखन होय.

People should be careful about how they behave with others. Once things go right, tens of thousands of efforts cannot set them right. Just as once milk goes bad and sours, butter cannot be extracted from it.

Major works

Apart from writing various dohas, Rahim translated Babar's memoirs, Baburnama from Chagatai language to Persian language, which was completed in AH 998 (1589–90). His command of Sanskrit was very good.[9] He wrote two books on astrology, Kheta Kautukama and Dwawishd Yogavali.

Tomb of Abdur Rahim Khankhana

His tomb is situated in Nizamuddin East on the Mathura road ahead of Humayun's Tomb in New Delhi, it was built by him for his wife in 1598, and later he was himself buried in it in 1627. Later, in 1753-4, marble and sandstone from this tomb was used for the making of Safdarjung's Tomb, also in New Delhi.

Where the poet rests

Five rupee ticket is required to enter. People can be seen jogging in the morning. These people have special passes and do not have to give rupee five entrance. All the rooms on Ground floor are sealed by brick and mortar and there is flight of stairs which goes downwards but has been shut using metal doors which bear a lock with Archeological survey seal.

He rests in peace

A flight of stairs at opposite end of entrance takes you to the first floor of the tomb which consists of two small raised platforms. If you move towards the balcony on the first floor there is a small flower shaped depression which may have house water lily. There is heavy desecration on walls with people scratching their names on it. There is another flight of stairs which seems to lead upward but is closed.